Braiding-machine.



S. W. WARDWELL.'

BRAIDING MAOHiNE. APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 28, 1911.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

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.8. W-. WARDWELL.

BRAIDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JAI'I. 2a, 1911v 1,082,981 j Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

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" Armemzrs a citizen of the Uni-ted SIMON W. WARDWELL, F PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

BRAIDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

Application filed January 28, 1911. Serial No. 605,266.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SIMON W. WARnwELL, States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented oertailn new useful Improvements in Braidtension controlled 7 machine. The carrier a yarn breaks,

ing-Machines, of which specification."

' My invention. relates to braiding-machines and particularly to the tension and drop-wire devices which act to control the delivery of the yarns from the supply-cops and effect the stopping of the machine when becomes exhausted or is hindered from delivering.

My invention is especially adapted for use on braiding-machines such as that shown and described in my Patent No. 1,032,870, dated July 16, 1912, in which the fabric is braidedfrom a plurality of yarn supplies or cops arranged in two tiers and rotating in opposite directions about a common axis.

My invention consists of improvements in the devices for regulating the delivery of the yarns from the supply-cops and in the mechanism for causing the operation of the drop-wire which acts-to stop the machine when a yarn breaks, the supply becomes eX-I hausted or when the yarn becomes snarled or tangled or is otherwise prevented from delivering freely from the cop.

The invention is fully described in the the following o is a .following specification, illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of one of the carriers which support the upper supplies of yarn; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same Fig. 3, an enlarged part-sectional plan View of the tension-mechanism for controlling the rotation of the cop-holder, takenon the line A-A of Fig;

1, looking in the direction indicated by t e arrow a; side elevation of the tension-mechanism and .drop-wire, part-sectional through the base of the cop-holder; Fig. 5, a detail View of the drop-wire; Fig. 6, a detail view of the lever for operating the drop-wire; Fig. 7, a detail view of the detent which controls the rotation of the copholder, showing it released from the rim of the brake-wheel.

Referring to Fig; 1, 2 is the shuttle or carrier which carries the upper yarn supply or cop Y and revolves it about the axis of the 2 consists essentially of a lenticu-larly such,- for instance, which indent the interior of the tube. The base of the cop-holder serves as a brake- Wheel for controlling its rotation aridconsists of a cupped downturned annular flanged rim 10. Re-

' be engaged by a friction brake or detent 11 which controls the. rotation of the copholder 7. :Ihe detent 11 consists of an axe- F ig.4, an enlarged shaped plate 12, preferably formed of sheet- 15 bent up from its curved side. The inner surface of the flange 14 corresponds to the peripheral face of the rim 10 and the outer surface of the flange 15 fits the inner face of the rim. spaced circumferentially apart around the rim 10 to allow the detent to be rocked'as later described. The detent 11 is also formed with a slot 16 adapted' to be en'- gaged by a stud 17 secured in the deck of the carrier, see Fig. 4; The stud 17 acts as a pivot for the detent l1 and by swinging the latter thereon it canbe caused to engage and holder from turning. When the detent is swung on its pivot in the direction indicated by the arrow Z), Fig. 3, the flanges 14 and 15 dog on the rim 10 and grip the latter to apply a frictional braking force which acts to resist the rotation of the cop-holder. 'To release the cop-holder the detent 11 is moved in the opposite direction and the flanges 14 and 15 will then be removed from their gripping contact with the rim. 10 as illustrated in Fig. 7. I

The detent 11 is operated through the medium of a lever 18 connected therewith by the wire link 19 hooked into the car 20.

The lever 18 is pivoted on a wire 21 which shaped plate or deck 3, and I a dependent keel or runner 4 which slides in ferring to Fig. 3,. the rim 10 is adapted to.

metal, with arcuate flanges or lugs 14 and The flanges 14. and 1'5 are grip the rim 10 to prevent the coplines in rotatively therewithby any suitable means, as the blades or spurs 8 disk 9 formed with the -mainportion of the standard 22 extends {up t io . ward to a point midwaylof the height of supply-spindle 6 and is bowed forward in the arm 25' which is formed with a yarnv guide or eye 26 at its extremity, see Fig. 4.

- Two lugs or' ears 27 are bent. forward from the sides of the standard 22 and through these the wire 21 passes, see Fig. 3. The lever 18 is formed with ears 28 voted on the wire 21 outside of the ears 27 One end of the wire 21 is bent back in a loop 29 with its extremity terminating in the r1ght-an-- "gfid portion 30 which extends through an 3-" ning 31 in the standard 22. The end of this extension 30 is rounded ofl to facilitate its being pushed through the opening 31 and on its upper side is formed a notch 32 which engages the edge of the opening, see Fig. 4. In this manner the extension 30 serves as a latch or catch to hold the wire 21 in place after it has been put through the ears on the lever 18 and standard 22. To remove the wire from the ears it is only necessary to press down on the end of the extension 30 and snap it out of the opening 31 when the wire can be withdrawn. The lever 18 has a depending arm 33 with a hole 34 into which is hooked the end of the link 19. At the extremity of this arm 33 is securedonc end of a coiled spring-35 which has its opposite end fastened to a lever 36, see Fig. 3. The lever 36 is preferably constructed of wire with-one end bent into a ring 3''( which surrounds the hub 5 on the carrier deck and is seated in a pcripheral groove 38. At 39 the lever takes the. form of a 'pigtail to provide an eye into which is hooked the end of the spring 35. The end 40 of the lever 36 is adapted to engage notches or teeth 41 formed on a rib 42'onathe under side of the carriers deck 3, see Figs. 1 and 2. By adjusting the lever -36 along the notches 41 the tension of the .pring 35 can be Varied to regulate its effect on the lever 18.

One ear 28 of the lever 18 is formed with a finger 44 which reaches out to,engage a I lug 45' on a lever 46. The lever 46, like the lever 18. is pivoted. on the Wire 21 through '55 the mediumof two downturned cars 47 havinfgholes for the wire,*--see Figs. 3 and 6. Tie main arm of the lever 46 terminates in a hook-shaped loop or guide 48 through which the yarn from the cop leads, as more so fully described hereinafter. Extending upwardfrom the'ma'in portion of the lever 46 is a curved arm 49hzi'ying a laterally projecting stud or pin .50 at its extremity. The

. pin 50 is adapted to engage a cam-groove 51 6.3-1 n the i'lrop-wirc 52:18; regulate the position 2] l -of the latter according to the position of the lever 46 as now described: '1, he dro Wire 52 is preferably formed of sheetrmeta' shaped like an arrow-head with an extension 53 projecting downward from its point, as most clearly shown in Fig. 5. The upper shank 54"of thed'rop-wire is adapted to slide in a slotted bearing .in' the laterally extending lug 55 on the standard 22,"see-F1gs. 3 and 4, and the extension .53 projects down through. a hole in the foot 23 of the standard 22 and a corresponding opening in the deck of the carrier. Formed in the tran .larly-shaped' portion of the dro -wire is t e cam-groove 51 having a curve portion 56 and two upwardly inclined branches 57 and 58. Netmally the lever 46 is maintained by the tension of the yarn in the position illustrated in Fig. 4, with'the pin 50 engaging the rounded I face 59 of the cam-groove 51 to support the 35 drop-wire 52 in its uppermost position.

.When the lever 46 is tilted either upward or downward, however, the pin 50 will travel in the branch 57 or branch 58 of'gthe camgroove and the drop-wire will be lowered in position in the manner and for the purpose as later described.

The operation of the whole device is as follows: The suppl -cop Y is laced on the cop-holder 7 and the yarn y eading from I its periphery is threaded through the guideeye 26 and thence down through the guideloop 48, see Fig. 1. From the loop 48 the yarn is drawn up againthrou h the eye 26 and thence leads to the brai ing point of the machine. The lever 36 is adjusted to regulate the tension on the spring 35 according to the stren th of the yarn and the character of the abric being produced. With a light yarn the lever is set togive a minimum resistance to the movement of the lever 18 so as not to strain or break the. material,'but with a heavier yarn greater resistance to delivery'can be applied to produce a closely meshed fabric when so desired. With the parts inthe position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 thespring 35 acts through the lever 18 and link 19 to ioroe the detent 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow 6, Fig. 3, to dog it on the rim 10 of: the brake-wheel of the cop-holder 7. The yarn 7 being looped through the eye 48 on the lever 46 and drawn up to the braiding point suspends the lever 46in osition to 'bring its lug45 against the un er side of' the finger 44 on the leyer 18. With the lever 46 in this )osition the pin 50 on the arm 49 restson t e curved edge 59 of the camgroove 51 and the drop-wire 52 is held thereby in its raised position. When the machino starts to operate its braiding action will create a draft on the yarn 7 and this first pull will cause the lever 46 to swing upward in the direction indicated by the arrow See Fi 4, This lifting of the'lcvcr 131 Y the 46 acts through the lug 45 bearing on the under side of the finger 44 to tilt the lever 18 in the direction indicated by the arrow (1. As the lever 18 is moved inthis direction against the action of its spring 35 it acts through the link 19 to move the detent 11 in the direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow 1), Fig. 3. This releases the lugs 14 and 15 of the detent 11 from their doggin en agement with the rim 10 of the bra IQ-W eel, as shown in Fig. 7, and the cop-holder is then free to rotate to deliver yarn. Only a slight movement of the lever 18 is required to release the detent 11 from the rim of the brake-wheel and to effect this movement the lever 46 is only lifted to a correspondingly slight extent.

curved portion of the cam-groove 51 with-- out materially changing the position of the drop-wire. When, however, any abnormal resistance to delivery of the yarn is encountered, as, for instance, by the catching or tangling of the yarn on the cop, the tension on the yarn will act to raise the leverAG to a suflicient. extent to carry the pin '50 into the branch 57 of the cam-groove 51. As the pin 50' rides along this branch of the cam-groove the drop-wire 52 will drop bodily to project its lower end 53 below the deck of the carrier. The falling of the dropwire brings its lower end into position to mg application.

- yarn will be .ever the yarn fails engage the actuating devices of the stopping-mechanism which acts to arrest the operation of the machine. These latter devices are shown and described in my pend- Serial No. 603,530, filed January 19th, plained as they form no part of the present invention. The drop-wire 52 also operates in the manner above described when a snarl or tangle occurs in the yarn as it leaves the cop. Any abnormal bunch or knot in the prevented from passing through the guide-eye 26 and the excessive tension on the yarn caused by such hindrance will act to lift the lever e6 to move the drop-wire 'into its lowermost position.

When the yarn y breaks or the supply on the cop becomes exhausted the lever 46 is released and will drop under the action of gravity.- As the lever 46 tilts downward the pin 50 will ride out into the branch 58 of the cam-groove 51 and the drop-wire 512* will fall as before Fdescribed. In this way the stopping of the machine is effected whento deliver properly from thes upply-cop; either through breakage, ex-

1911, and need not here be ex-- haustion or other hindrance to unwinding due to snarling or catching of the yarn.

M invention provides a particularly effective device for controlling the rotation of the supply-holder to regulate the delivcry of the yarn, and also a simple and positive means for actuating the stopping-mechanism of the machine when the yarn breaks,

becomes tangled or is exhausted, The detent for the cop-holder is novel in arrangement and operation and shows marked improvement over similar devices heretofore used. By dispensing with the pawl and ratchet arrangement usually employed for this purratchet teeth to become inoperative through wear and the improved arrangement provides against lint or dust interfering with the movement of the parts. 4

The drop-wire 52 is accurately and posie sion on the yarn and cannot chatter or jar into operative position from vibration of the machine. Neither can it be accidentally moved or displaced, but acts to stop the machine o-nlyupon the failure of the yarn.

Various modifications mightxbe made in the form and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention,'therefore, without limiting myself to the exact construction shown,what I claim is 1. The combination with a rotatable cop holder and a brake wheel rotatable therewith, of'pivotally supported braking surfaces adapted to simultaneously engage opposite faces of a portion of said wheel when moving in one and the same direction, and means for shifting said braking surfaces to and from engagement with the brake wheel. 2. The combination with a rotatable cop holder and a flanged brake wheel rotatable therewith, of a pivotally mounted detent havingbraking surfaces positioned adjacent opposite faces of said rim, said braking surfaces being adapted to simultaneously engage the rim of the brake wheel and the same direction and to release said rim by movement in the opposite direction, and means for rocking the detent.

3. The combination with a rotatable copholder, of a brake-wheel rotatable therewith, said brake-wheel having a flanged rim, a pivoted detent formed with braking surfaces adapted to engage the opposite sides of while moving in one '95- tively controlled by variations in the ten.

' said rim, a lever to move said detent, and a spring to normally maintain the detent in position with its braking surfaces cramped on. the rim to resist the rotation of the copholder. Y

4. In a supply-carrier for braiding-machines, the combination with a rotatable cop-holder for the supply-cop, of a brake- .wheel rotatable therewith, sa1d brake-wheel 10 formed with a flanged rim, a detent formed j with braking surfaces adapted to engage the opposite sides of the rim, means to normally hold said detent in position to resist the retation of the brake-wheel, and means controlled by the tension on the yarn delivering from the supply-cop to release said detent.

5. In .asuppl -carrier for braiding-machines, the com ination with a rotatable o cop-holder, of means to regulate the rota-- tion of the same, a lever to operate said means, said lever controlled by the tension on the yarn, and a drop-wire suspended onits operative position by extreme movement of the lever under excess or relief of tension on the yarn.

7. In a supply-carrier for braiding or like machines, the combination with a rotatable cop-holder, of means to control the 1 rotation of the same, a' lever to operate said means, and a drop-wire? suspended on said lever and movable into operative position by extreme mpvement' of the lever in either direction,

8. In a supply-carrier for braiding or like machines, the combination with a ro-,.

tatable cop-holder, of means to control the rotation of the same, devices controlled by the tension on the yarn to'o crate said means, and a drop-wire suspen ed by said devices in its raised position under normal tension on the yarn'and moved'into operative position under excess or relief of tension on the yarn.

9. The combination with a cop-holder, of means to control the delivery of the yarn from the supply-cop, devices controlled by the tension on the yarn to operate said means, and a drop-wire suspended by; said devices in its raised position under normal tension on the yarn and moved into'opera- Live position under excess or rel icf of tension as on the yarn.

'with a pivote 10. The combination with a cop-holder, of means to control the delivery of the yarn from the supply-cop, a lever controlled by the tension on the yarn to operate said means, a drop-wire formed with cam-faces, and means on the lever adapted to engage the cam-faces to hold the drop-wire in its inoperative position under normal tension' on the yarn and to move said drop-wire into operative tension.

11. The combination with a rotatable copholder, of means to regulate the rotation of the same to control the delivery of the yarn, devices'controlled by the tension on the yamto operate said means, and a dropwire connected with said devices to be moved thereby into operative position under excess or relief of tension on the yarn.

12. In a braiding or like machine, the combination with a drop-wire, of a lever controlled in position by the tension on the yarn, and means on said lever engaging the drop-wire to normally support it in inoperative position, said drop-wire connected with the lever to be moved positively thereby into operative position whenthe lever is rocked-in either direction. v

' 13. In a braiding or like machine, .the combination with a lever controlled in posit-ion by the tension on the, yarn, anda dropwire suspended on said lever in its inoperative posltion under normal tension on the yarn and moved by the lever into its operative position when the lever is rocked 1n either direct-ion under excess or relief. of tension on the yarn. Y

14. In a supply-carrier, the combination with a lever controlled in position by the tension on the yarn, a drop-wire formed with eam;faces, and means on the lever to engage sald cam-faces to hold the'drop-wire in its inoperative position when the lever is in mid-position and to move the dropwire into operative position when the lever is rocked in either direction. a

15. In a su ply-carrier, the combination ever, of a drop-wire formed with a cam-groove having a curved face and two oppositely extending angular faces, and means on the lever to engage the curved face of the cam-groove to hold the drop-wire in inoperative position and to engage the angular faces to move it into 0 erative position. 1G. The combination wit a sliding dropwire formed with a cam-groove having a' curved portion and two branches extendlng therefrom in V-shape, of a lever having means to engage the curved ortion of the groove to suspend the drop-wlre in inoperative position, and to engage one or the other of the branches to lower the drop-wire into operative position when the lever is rocked in citherdirection.

17 The combination with a rotatable cop- 130 posltion upon excess or relief of 75 yarn to operate the first/lever, and a dropthe of the same,

to operate the detent.

wire suspended on the second lever and moved thereby into operative position when said lever is moved to its in either direction.

1 8. The combination with a rotatable copholder, of a detent to control the rotation of same, a lever movableto operate said detent, a second lever controlled by the-tension on the yarn to move the first lever, and a drop-wi e connected with the second lever and adapted to be moved into operative position when said lever is moved beyond the extent necessary to move the'firstlever extreme position 19. The combination with a rotatable copholder, of a detent to control the rotation a lever movable to operatesaid detent, a second lever controlled by the tension on the yarn to actuate the first lever, a drop-wire having cam-faces and means on the second lever to engage the cam-faces to move the drop-wire 1nt0 operative position when said lever ismoved beyond the extent required to operate the detent. e combination with a rotatable 00p 20; Th holder, of a; detent to control the rotation of the same, a lever to 0 rate said detent, a

second lever movable independently of the first lever but adapted to engage'the latter to release the detent, and a drop-wire connected with the second lever and carried thereby into operative position when said lever is moved beyondthe extent required to operate the detent.

21. The combination with a rotatable copholder, of a detent to control the rotation of the same, a lever to operate said detent, a

spring to normally maintain the detent in engagement with the cop'holder, a second lever adapted to operate the first lever to move the detent against the action of the spring, and a drop-wire connected to the seoond lever to be moved thereby into 0 erative position when said.lever.,1s mov to 'I'tS extreme posltion 1n elther direction.

, 22. The combination with a standard 22 having bearings, of a drop-wire 52 slid-able in said bearings, and a lever 46 pivoted on said. standard and connected with the dropwire to'suspend the latter in raised position and arranged to move the drop-wire to its lowermost position when the lever is rocked in either direction. a

23. The combination with a vertically sliding drop-wire having a V-shaged camgroove, of a lever having means a apted to engage said groove. to raise and lower the drop-wire when the lever is rooke In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

v SIMON W. WARDWELL. Witnesses:

ARTHUR A. ARMINGTON. GRACE B. HOOKER. 

